Body mix-up from ferry disaster prompts DNA testing

Apr. 25, 2014
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A diver jumps into the sea to look for people believed to have been trapped in the sunken Sewol ferry near buoys which were installed to mark the vessel in the water off the southern coast near Jindo, South Korea. / AP

by Natalie DiBlasio, USA TODAY

by Natalie DiBlasio, USA TODAY

South Korean officials are conducting more stringent DNA testing to identify bodies retrieved from a sunken ferry after several mix-ups.

Several South Korean media outlets have reported bodies going to the wrong families, with the error sometimes caught only after the remains were taken to a funeral home. An "action plan" released by the government-wide emergency task force acknowledged that "there have been cases where the victims were wrongly transferred."

"Because the bodies have been under water for days, even parents don't recognize their children anymore," a coast guard official told South Korea's Yonhap News Agency.

But the move to ask for DNA sparked angry responses from some families because they considered providing DNA samples as an acknowledgment that their loved ones are dead, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported. Scuffles broke out in hospitals when authorities asked relatives to prove their family relation before handing over bodies.

The boat capsized April 16, leaving more than 300 - most of them high school students - feared dead.

In response to the backlash, the government task force team said it will simplify the identification process to return the bodies to their families as soon as possible.

Remains will be transferred to families when there is a match using DNA testing, fingerprints or dental records.

Contributing: Associated Press

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